Insects Feeding
on this Plant:
____________
Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed) [Asclepiadaceae]
(Observations are from Vestal, Clark et al., Wagner, Yanega, Hart & Gleason, Arnett & Jacques, Needham et al., Blackman & Eastop, Marcovitch, Gangwere, Opler & Krizek, Pepper, Gangwere)
Coleoptera (Beetles)
Cerambycidae: Tetraopes tetrophthalmus (Red Milkweed Beetle) [larvae bore through lower stems & roots] Ya1996 Mar1916; Chrysomelidae: Chrysochus auratus (Dogbane Beetle) [adults feed on foliage] Vst1913, Labidomera clivicollis Clk2004; Curculionidae: Rhyssomatus lineaticollis (Milkweed Stem Weevil) [larvae feed within the stems] HG1907 Mar1916
Diptera (Flies)
Agromyzidae: Liriomyza pusilla [leaf-miner] Ndm1928
Heteroptera (True Bugs)
Lygaeidae: Lygaeus kalmii (Small Milkweed Bug) [feeds on flowers & seedpods] AL1981 HG1907, Oncopeltus fasicatus (Large Milkweed Bug) [feeds on flowers & seedpods] Vst1913
Homoptera (Sucking Insects)
Aphididae: Aphis asclepiadis BE2013 Pp1965, Myzocallis asclepiadis Pp1965
Lepidoptera (Butterflies, Skippers, & Moths)
Arctiidae: Euchaetes egle (Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar) [Common Milkweed is a preferred host] Wg2005; Nymphalidae: Danaus plexippus (Monarch) [larvae feed on leaves] Mar1916 OK1984
Orthoptera (Grasshoppers)
Acrididae: Melanoplus bivittatus (Two-Striped Grasshopper) [feeds on flowers, field observations] Ggw1961, Melanoplus confusus (Little Pasture Grasshopper) [feeds on leaves, field observations] Ggw1961, Melanoplus femurrubrum (Red-legged Grasshopper) [feeds on leaves, flowers, & seedpods; field observations] Ggw1961; Oecanthidae: Oecanthus quadripunctatus (Four-Spotted Tree Cricket) [nymphs feed on flower buds, dry flowers, & seedpods, while adults feed on leaves; field observations] Ggw1961; Tettigoniidae: Atlanticus testaceus (Protean Shieldback) [feeds on flowers, field observations] Ggw1967, Conocephalus strictus (Straight-lanced Meadow Katydid) [feeds on dry leaves, field observations] Ggw1961, Scudderia curvicauda (Curve-tailed Bush Katydid) [nymphs feed on dry leaves & flower buds, adults feed on leaves; field observations] Ggw1961, Scudderia furcata (Fork-tailed Bush Katydid) [nymphs feed on dry leaves, dry flowers, & fresh flowers; field observations] Ggw1961